Status: 02/09/2023 2:16 p.m
After a long wrangling, the 49-euro ticket is to be introduced in May. When the plans were first discussed in the Bundestag, there was severe criticism of open points. Transport Minister Wissing made it clear in which forms the digital ticket should be available.
Barely three months before the intended start, a dispute continues to smolder over practical issues relating to the 49-euro ticket for local public transport. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing once again defended the planned electronic form of the new nationwide offer in the Bundestag. A digital ticket does not mean that you always need a mobile phone – it could also be available as a chip card, said the FDP politician at the first parliamentary consultation on the planned financing. “We don’t need a savings book in Germany to withdraw money. And we don’t need a paper ticket to travel by bus or train.”
The opposition complained about numerous unresolved issues. Wissing advertised the “Deutschlandticket”, which would be “a multi-talent”. It strengthens climate-friendly mobility, increases the attractiveness of local public transport and relieves citizens. The entry into intermodal transport with the combination of different means of transport, which is controlled digitally, will also be created.
The minister rejected objections that the ticket was only useful in the city and nothing in rural areas. Since fares are higher in rural areas, the relief effect of the ticket is also significantly higher there than in cities.
1.5 billion euros additional
Wissing introduced a bill to finance the future offer in Parliament. According to this, the federal government wants to give an additional 1.5 billion euros from 2023 to 2025 in order to compensate for half of the loss of income from transport providers. The federal states should pay for the other half.
Criticism came from the opposition. Michael Donth (CDU) spoke of a good idea in principle, but poor implementation. “In school there would probably be a grade of four minus.” The financing is secured until the end of the year, but after that it is unclear how possible additional costs will be dealt with. Donth also pointed out that not all bus companies have smart card readers. The distribution of income among the transport companies and a possible credit to students’ semester tickets are also unclear.
Wolfgang Wiehle (AfD) criticized the plans as “49-euro botch”. The ticket benefits those who already have good local transport. However, it does not provide for new lines; instead, money for the expansion flows into the cheaper offer. In addition, the business is cannibalized by long-distance buses and long-distance trains.
Right direction, but no mobility turnaround
Left MP Bernd Riexinger said the ticket is a step in the right direction, but is far from being a turnaround in mobility. If no money is injected, price increases for the 49-euro ticket are already programmed.
The SPD politician Dorothee Martin, on the other hand, defended the plans, which stand for “the biggest revolution in local transport since the founding of the Federal Republic”. The price of 49 euros is attractive for many people and cheaper than most of today’s subscriptions that only apply regionally. In order to facilitate access at the beginning, the ticket should initially also be offered in paper form.
Opportunity for lasting change
Berlin’s Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch (Greens) spoke of an opportunity for lasting change. But this only exists if the cheap ticket is combined with a “renovation and expansion offensive for the German rail network”. The aim must be to shift traffic from road to rail and to enable more and more people to leave their cars at home.
The ticket is to start at the introductory price of 49 euros per month on May 1st and tie in with the popular 9-euro ticket from summer 2022. A digitally bookable, monthly terminable subscription is planned. Further committee deliberations on the draft will follow in the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat will then have to approve it.